Track, stands cleared briefly for passing storm

The Firestone Indy Lights car started the ontrack action on time Saturday morning and things were running smoothly, until a storm cloud passed over the Baltimore Grand Prix course around 10:30. Officials cleared the grandstands in anticipation of lightning and cars stopped running.

Fans headed to protected areas under awnings and into the Convention Center, to check out what was inside.

"I was impressed by their attitudes," said Mary Kay Carver, a greater, who was advising people of suite locations and telling them how to find the IZOD IndyCar paddock in the bottom of the building if they had passes  or wanted to buy passes to get a look at the teams' work area.

But 15 minutes later, the American Le Mans Series cars were back on the racetrack and the crowd was thickening outside.

"We'd just bought a pretzel when the rain started and came inside to eat it," said Alyssa Seibert of Washington, who was here with her friends Andrew Bare of Lusby (Southern Maryland), and Patricia Collingwood of Westminster, were among those heading back outside.

"This is pretty cool," said Bare of the cars and the scene.

There are no early attendance figures, but the Eutaw Street corridor between the B&O Warehouse and stadium was very crowded by 10:30 a.m. and there were lots of fans along the track trying to get an up-close glimpse of the Indy Lights qualifying.